Many different types of automobile cleaning agents are available for different cleaning purposes. The compositions of the various cleaning agents are adapted for use on the particular automobile surface to be cleaned and the type of soil to be removed. For example, petroleum distillates are commonly used to clean brake dust and road grime from wheels. Vinyl and rubber surfaces can be cleaned and preserved with polysiloxane-containing compositions, as described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,956,174. Car wash compositions typically comprise anionic detergents. The active ingredients of bug and tar removal compositions are typically petroleum distillates, xylene, benzene, or other hydrocarbon solvents.
From a consumer perspective, a multi-purpose cleaner would be desirable to reduce costs and save time by combining automotive cleaning tasks. However, typical car washes are not capable of removing bugs, tar, tree-sap, and other greasy substances from auto body surfaces. There is currently no product capable of combining the functions of a car wash product with that of a bug and tar remover product.
In an era where health and environmental concerns are increasing, it is becoming more desirable to use effective cleaning compositions that are non-caustic and environmentally safe. Therefore, it is desirable to clean greasy substances without petroleum derived or halogenated hydrocarbon solvents or high levels of caustic and/or phosphates.
Various non-caustic and environmentally safe components of cleaning agents have been demonstrated to be capable of removing greasy and oily soils from a variety of surfaces to be cleaned. For example, a non-caustic cleaner is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,511,488 which comprises d-limonene. The cleaning compositions is effective for industrial cleaning tasks, such as those in machine shops, automotive service centers, food processing industries, where oily and particulate soils accumulate.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,535,487 also describes a non-caustic cleaning composition containing d-limonene in combination with a liquid detergent. The cleaning composition is effective in removing tar, grease, wax, rust, paint, and other soils.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,204,016 describes a non-caustic oven cleaner containing d-limonene.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,180,472 discloses the use of fatty acid alkyl esters in cleaning compositions for the removal of oily soils from fabrics.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,143,639 describes the use of fatty acid alkyl esters for removing fat, inks and the like from printing apparatus.
Thus, terpenes and fatty acid alkyl esters have been demonstrated to be effective grease and dirt-removing alternatives to hydrocarbon solvents. However, none of the above-mentioned references discloses a cleaning composition which has the desirable foaming, rinsing, and drying properties of a car wash and remains an effective degreaser in cold water without stripping wax or paint from the surface to be cleaned.